Comfortably Close
by Samantha14
Summary: Sequel to Too Close For Comfort. Jess and Rory haven't had sex in six months, and the reason is sleeping in a tiny bed in Luke's apartment.
1. Prologue

**Title:** _Comfortably Close  
_**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters you recognize, they belong to...someone at the CW, maybe? I dunno. I do own the new characters, whether they're new for this story or for the first one.  
**Summary: **Sequel to _Too Close For Comfort_. Jess and Rory haven't had sex in six months, and the reason is sleeping in a tiny bed in Luke's apartment. Or sometimes a tiny bed in Lorelai's house. Or sometimes even in a full size bed _with_ Jess and Rory. Jess sets out to rectify the situation.  
**A/N: **This is a sequel to _Too Close For Comfort_. This means if you have not read that story, you will not know what I'm talking about half the time. TC4C is good enough to introduce you to the Leeopolis family, Iliana and Zano and their son Miles. It will also introduce you to one of our three main characters, Jessi Gilmore. This story takes place three and a half years after that story ended--namely, spring 2007. Davey and Martha were born when they were born, Lane and Dave got back together (in the last story), Luke and Lorelai are on-again, off-again, on-again. In this story, there is no such thing as April. Of course, in my world, April stopped existing for me the moment her mother was the same actress as Sasha. Anyway. Reviews are appreciated.

_Prologue_

Rory managed to slip away from the diner while her daughter was preoccupied in teaching Jess how to color. Three-year-old Jessica didn't even notice her mother was gone until she was halfway to New Haven.

"Daddy, where's Mommy?" the little girl asked, a worried look on her face.

"Oh, baby, Mommy's fine. She just had to go to school." Jess ran a hand over Jessi's shiny brown hair and smiled, hoping to placate her. It worked, and she nodded and returned to her coloring.

It wasn't until over three hours later Rory returned to the diner. She let herself in with her key and made her way up the stairs to the apartment. There Jess was, sprawled out on his bed with Jessi curled up under one arm. Rory crept over, shedding her shoes, purse, and jacket. She slipped under the covers and curled up on Jess's other side. Jess groaned, and opened an eye.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey." She smiled and reached up to kiss him.

"How was class?" he asked, wrapping his arm around her.

She sighed and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Long. How was bedtime?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Successful," he said after a minute. Rory laughed quietly and tightened her arms around him. She was about to drift off when she heard the first rumble of thunder.

"Oh, no," she murmured, not bothering to open her eyes.

"Hmm?" Jess asked, not moving.

"Thunder," she sighed, tucking herself in closer around him. "Means rain. Means wetness on the way home."

"Stay."

"Oh, I can't stay, I've gotta take Jessi home."

"She _is_ home, Rory. Come on, stay. Luke's at your mom's. It's nice right here."

Rory, who hadn't moved despite her protests, nodded slightly. "Okay," she said.

Jess closed his eyes, and tried to drift off to sleep, but having both of his arms stretched out, with a toddler on one arm and a twenty-something on the other, was very uncomfortable. He tried to slide his arm from under Rory, but she groaned.

"What're ya doin'? Stop."

"I need to move my arm to put Jessi in bed."

"No," Rory muttered, but she allowed Jess to disentangle himself and carry his daughter to her own bed. Jessi murmured and curled around a pillow, her face an exact image of her mother's. Jess kissed her softly on the forehead before sliding back into his own bed. He slid his arms around Rory's waist and kissed her neck.

"What're ya doin' now?" Rory asked, groaning.

"I believe it's called foreplay," Jess said, kissing his way to her mouth.

Rory kissed him back, and groaned as his lips left hers. "Jess, I'm tired," she said, watching as he made his way down her neck.

He sighed and stopped, resting his head on her chest. "Rory, we haven't had sex in six months. I really, reallymiss sex."

"Jessi's right there," Rory half-heartedly protested, but Jess was unbuttoning her shirt and it was getting harder to concentrate.

"She's asleep."

"What if she wakes up?"

"She won't."

Rory was quiet for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts, and eventually pushed him away gently. "Jess...I'm not comfortable."

Jess sighed again, this time rolling off of her. "Rory, this is getting old."

"I know, I know, I just...can't with her right there. But hey, next week we can get a room at the Dragonfly for a night." She pecked his lips. "Okay?"

"Rory, I don't want to do this anymore. You live there, I live here, Jessi goes back and forth. And she's forced to sleep in this tiny bed in each of our rooms, and she doesn't have a place of her own, and she's getting older and she needs a place of her own." Jess exhaled. Rory stroked his hair over his forehead. Jess reached up and grabbed her hand. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand and kissed her, slowly.

"Rory?" he asked, pulling away.

"Mm-hmm?"

"I think we should get married."

A smile slowly spread across her face. She glanced at Jessi sleeping peacefully and then leaned forward and kissed Jess.

"Okay," she said simply.

"Okay," he whispered.


	2. Always Running Out The Door

**Title: **_Comfortably Close_  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters you recognize. However, I do own all new characters, whether they are from this story or the last one.**  
Summary: **Sequel to _Too Close For Comfort_. Jess and Rory haven't had sex in six months, and the reason is sleeping in a tiny bed in Luke's apartment. Or sometimes a tiny bed in Lorelai's house. Or sometimes even in a full size bed _with _Jess and Rory. Jess sets out to rectify the situation.  
**A/N: **Sorry this has taken so long. Thanks so much for all of the reviews. Just to clear something up: Jess and Rory haven't had sex because it takes a _lot _of effort to have sex when you have a three-year-old child, especially if you don't live together, like Jess and Rory, who live with Luke and Lorelai, respectively.

----

She emerged triumphantly from her purse with her ringing phone and flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Rory, you're an hour late."

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry, I'm on my way from Iliana's right now."

Jess groaned. "What are you doing there?"

"I dropped her off after the meeting."

"Oh, God, you're late because of a young mothers' meeting?"

"Yes," she said defensively. "They're a big part of my life, they've gotten me through a lot."

"Yeah, well, right now, they've made you late for a meeting with the realtor, and now I've got to pick up Jessi. We've missed the one-hour window we supposedly both had during our day."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just--"

"No, I don't care about your excuses right now. I have to pick Jessi up from Lane's and drop her at Luke's. You can pick her up there. I have to get to work."

"Won't Luke cover your shift?"

"My other job, Rory." Jess worked three days a week at Wal-Mart, a job he had always hated. He'd only gone back to work there when Jessi was about six months old. The money from his job at the diner was nowhere near enough for the home he wanted to someday buy for his family. He wouldn't allow Luke to overpay him, so he had gotten a second job at the only place he could think of.

"Oh, is that today?" Rory asked, feeling crappier by the second.

Jess sighed, and Rory winced.

"I really am so sorry, Jess," she said quietly. "I don't know what else to say. I won't let it happen again."

"I'm not mad at you, really," Jess said, just as quietly. "I just miss you."

Rory smiled sadly. "I know, I miss you too. But, hey--when we live together, we'll see each other more."

"If we ever see each other long enough to get a place."

"We will. We will, I promise. Now, you go take Jessi to Mom's, and go to work, and I'll meet you at the diner for dinner."

"Are you kidding, Rory? I'm not getting off 'til midnight."

"Oh, God, I have class at nine-thirty tomorrow."

Jess sighed again. "You take Jessi tonight and drop her off at the diner tomorrow morning. We'll have to see each other tomorrow sometime."

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you, too. Bye."

"Bye." Rory closed her phone and dropped it back in her purse.

----

Rory took a sip of her coffee and glanced over the book Lane slipped in front of her. "I like this dress," she said, pointing to a sleek, strapless number.

Lane sighed. "Colors, Rory! Pick your colors first."

Rory smiled. "I told you, we're not planning for a big wedding. We just...want to be committed."

"Aw. That's really sweet and everything, but you asked me to be your matron of honor and I'm trying to live up to that responsibility."

"But when you got married I didn't do any of this."

"Yes, but when I got married you were busy being a student and a mom. What do I do all day? I play drums and help Dave write songs and sometimes work for Luke when Jess is busy."

"And that's all very important," Rory said, taking another sip of coffee.

Lane sighed again, a long, drawn-out sigh. Then she smiled and pointed to a page of colors in front of Rory. "What do you think of silver and red? That would be beautiful for a December wedding--very snowy and Christmas-y."

"Jessi's birthday is in December, we can't have it then. Plus, I told you--simple, low-key affair, sometime in the next month or two."

Lane groaned. "I can't rush this! This takes time!"

"I'm sorry, Lane, you're just going to have to give up on your dream of a big wedding." Rory smiled and patted Lane's hand, then turned around as the Gilmores' back door swung open. "Hey, sweetie!" she said, standing up from the kitchen table to pick up Jessi. She kissed Jess as he followed them into the house.

"Hey, Lane," Jess called, waving a hand in her direction. "Trying to work on the wedding again?"

Lane smiled. "Can I interest you in a February wedding, Jess?"

Jess's eyes widened and he shook his head. "Are you kidding me? That's ten months from now."

Lane sighed for the third time. "That's how much time you need to plan a proper wedding! What is wrong with you people?" Lane continued muttering and started rifling through her stacks of wedding paraphenalia.

Jess looked at Rory. "Has she been like this long?"

"Ever since I told her we were engaged."

"Hmm. Why don't you tell her you have finals or something?"

"Because I don't, not for another few weeks or so. And I can't tell her that now because she won't believe me when it really happens."

"True." Jess thought for another second, then threw his hands into the air. "I give up."

"Thanks for all your help," Rory said sarcastically.

"Well, that's all I have time for. I just came to drop off the brat and now I'm gone."

"I hate that," Rory said, leaning forward to kiss Jess again.

"I know, me too, but before long we'll be living together and married and we'll at least be able to sleep in the same bed every night."

"No, I meant I hate when you call Jessi 'the brat'." Rory smiled and Jess ignored her, kissing Jessi's forehead and ruffling the little girl's hair.

"Be nice, you three," he called as he left the house, the door shutting behind him.

"What about a really pale pink and yellow?" Lane asked.

--

Jess felt a little guilty. He'd dropped Jessi off with Rory, claiming he was going to work, when he was really going shopping. Now that he was here, in the store, he wished he'd brought Jessi, or Rory--someone other than Luke.

"What about that one?" Luke asked, poking his finger in the direction of nearly a dozen different rings, all of them worse than the last.

Jess just shook his head, feeling overwhelmed. "None of them fit," he complained, passing over an entire case of colorful crystals.

"That's why you size it," Luke tried to joke, but Jess shot him a look. "Hey, why don't you come back with Lorelai? She'd be a bigger help than I am."

Jess shrugged, looking through another assortment of rings. He stopped over a thick, diamond encrusted platinum ring and blanched at the four thousand dollar price tag. "Yeah, maybe I will come back with Lorelai. Thanks for coming anyway, Luke."

"Anytime," Luke said, following Jess from the store.

"Do you ever think about it?" Jess asked as they walked back to Luke's truck. "Proposing to Lorelai, I mean."

"I don't know," Luke said. "Sometimes, I guess. But then I think about all the pressure that puts on us, not to mention you guys, and I chicken out. I don't know if Lorelai and I are fit to be married."

Jess didn't answer, just kept his gaze focused out the front windshield while Luke started the truck. Luke glanced over and noticed the worried look on his face.

"But I think you guys will work out great. You're already a family."

A muscle in Jess's jaw twitched, and he said, "But are we really ready to be together 24/7?"

Luke took a second to think, and then nodded. "Definitely. Plus, Jessi will love it."

Jess cracked a smile at the thought of his daughter. "Yeah. Jessi will love it."

--

Lorelai lay sprawled on the couch with Jessi sprawled next to her. They were watching the very end of The Little Mermaid and eating twizzlers.

"Hey, that's what your mommy and daddy get to do," Lorelai said, pointing to the wedding scene. "Well, without the octopus and everything."

"Yeah. No ockpus." Jessi said, concentrating on pulling apart her twizzler.

"And you get to wear a pretty dress and then you move into a new house."

Jessi glanced up at that. "I don't live with you?"

"No, sweetie, you're going to live with your mommy and daddy. Together. But no Grams or Uncle Luke."

Jessi thought for a second, and then said, "Can I visit?"

Lorelai nodded. "Of course."

"Okay," Jessi said, returning to her twizzler. "We watch Cindaella next time."

"Okay." Lorelai smiled and hugged Jessi. "Hand me a twizzler."


	3. Our Family

**Title:** _Comfortably Close_  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters you recognize. However, I do own all new characters, whether they are from this story or the last one.  
**Summary:** Sequel to _Too Close For Comfort_. Jess and Rory haven't had sex in six months, and the reason is sleeping in a tiny bed in Luke's apartment. Or sometimes a tiny bed in Lorelai's house. Or sometimes even in a full size bed with Jess and Rory. Jess sets out to rectify the situation.  
**A/N: **Sorry it's taken so long, but thanks for everyone's reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

----

Rory was lying on her back in her bed, listening to the wind howl outside. The weatherman had predicted a vicious cold front, and it sounded like he was right. Rory could practically feel the cold seeping in, so she was sleeping with her comforter and her fleece blanket, just to be on the safe side.

She was trying to imagine her wedding when the covers twitched aside and shockingly cold feet brushed her stomach.

"Ooh!" she exclaimed, before wrapping her arm around Jessi's waist and allowing the little girl to curl up.

"Cold," Jessi said simply.

"Yes, very. But it'll be gone soon, hopefully."

"Yeah, hopef'ly." Jessi was silent for a second, and then asked, "Mommy, what's married?"

"Well," Rory started, "it's when a boy and girl want to be together forever. So they stand up in front of a lot of people and say they love each other, and then they move in together and sometimes they get the same last name."

"Oh. Is that what you and Daddy are gonna do?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Oh. Are you gonna haf the same name?"

"I think so," Rory said a little hesitantly. "We haven't really talked about it, but I think I'll change my last name. And yours, too."

Jessi let out a little gasp. "Change my name?"

"No, sweetie, just your last name. So you and me and your daddy all have the same last name."

"Oh. Is that good?"

"Yes, sweetie, it's good."

"Oh. Okay." Jessi smiled and closed her eyes. Rory stroked her hair until the girl drifted to sleep.

----

Jess was shopping for a ring again, this time at a different jewelry store with a different tagalong.

"What about this one?" Lorelai asked, pointing to a simple diamond solitaire in a yellow gold band. Jess glanced at it only briefly before shaking his head.

"Too simple," he said.

Lorelai sighed. "Can you maybe tell me how much money you can spend? 'Cause I keep showing you these perfectly good seven hundred dollar rings and you keep shrugging and looking away!"

"It's a very definite number. It can't be changed either way."

"Yeah, whatever. What is it?"

"It's two months' salary. Well, basically. I've worked a little bit extra this month, but it's pretty average."

"What is it?" Lorelai asked, about to lose her calm.

"Twenty-five hundred dollars," he said in a stage whisper, checking around for salesmen. "But I'm pretty sure I know what I want."

"Where the hell did you get twenty-five hundred dollars?" Lorelai asked.

"Corporate hell," Jess said simply. "Plus, I haven't paid rent in three and a half years. Or bought food."

"Man, that Luke's been pretty good to you."

"You have no idea," Jess said. "But, look, I think I want something like this. Or this." Jess pointed out two different rings to Lorelai.

"Oh, Jess," she gasped. "They're beautiful."

"Which one?"

"I'm gonna have to go for the one on the left," she said, pointing.

"Yeah, me too," Jess said, smiling. "It could mean so many things."

"Yeah, it could," Lorelai said, looking at the ring from one side, and then another. "It's perfect." She looked up at Jess, and then reached out and squeezed his arm gently. "So perfect."

"Thank you, Lorelai. I think so too."

----

Iliana almost ran directly into Lane outside Luke's Diner.

"Whoops, I'm sorry, hon," Iliana said, smiling.

"It's fine," Lane said, edging around Iliana's large stomach. "How pregnant are you now?"

"Six months. But it's my third one, so it's like they've just compounded on each other."

Lane laughed.

"Are you going to work?"

"Yeah, Luke called me in. Are you looking for Rory?"

"I actually wasn't. I was comin' to talk to you, Ms. Matron of Honor."

"Well, it's not such a good honor if the bride won't let you do anything," Lane said as she held the door for Iliana.

"But we can still surprise her with a bridal shower," Iliana said, a gleam in her eye.

Lane responded with a similar gleam. "That's a good idea. When should we throw it?"

"Well, this weekend is their Dragonfly anniversary thing, right?"

Lane nodded.

"So I was thinking in a few weeks. Because she can't have an anniversary and a party within a week of each other. Unless it's an anniversary party. Which it's not."

"Absolutely." Lane set a cup of tea in front of Iliana. "When do you want to plan?"

"How 'bout now?" Iliana grinned.

----

Jess and Rory, hands entwined, were pushing Jessi's stroller through the zoo in Bridgeport. They'd been there for a few hours, so Jessi was starting to fade. She'd stopped shrieking and pointing at every animal they passed, but if she weren't through looking at an animal, she would certainly shriek if her parents tried to move her.

They were currently stopped in front of the otters, and as Jessi pointed and laughed, Jess and Rory talked.

"How different do you think her life will be when we get married?" Rory asked.

"I think it'll change more when you graduate. She'll get to see you more."

"Hmm, I don't think so. I'll be working, hopefully."

"But work will be left at work. And with you working, I can work less, and we can see each other more."

"But only after we get married and move in together," Rory said, triumphantly.

"Okay, you're right," Jess said. He kissed the top of her head and hugged her tighter. She sighed, and he asked, "When are your interviews?"

"I've got one Monday at ten, one Wednesday at four, and one Thursday at eight."

He nodded. "And I need to watch Jessi."

"Oh, could you?"

"Of course."

They were silent for a minute, watching Jessi. She'd stopped jumping in her stroller, and was now resting her head.

"She's definitely fading," Rory whispered.

"Time to drop her off?"

Rory nodded, and they started pushing her towards the entrance. Jessi was so tired, she didn't protest, and during the forty-five minute ride back to Stars Hollow, she fell asleep.

Rory and Jess first pulled up in front of Lorelai's house, and Rory ran in with Jessi and put her in bed. She waved to Lorelai as she left with a "See you later."

They then continued to the Dragonfly Inn, where they were shown to the room they reserved every six months. They had two anniversaries, around six months apart, and those were the times they spent together, without Jessi. This anniversary happened to be the fourth anniversary of Kyle's party.

"What do you want to do first?" Jess asked as they entered the room.

"Take a shower," Rory said, moving towards the bathroom.

Jess grinned. "Great idea," he said, pulling his shirt off.

Rory laughed. "Hold on," she said, placing one hand on his bare chest. "I was thinking about doing this alone, while you order room service." She kissed him. "Relax. We've got all night and all day tomorrow." She pushed him gently back to the bed, making him sit. "I'll see you soon," she said. She dropped her shirt and grinned over her shoulder at him before closing the door.

Jess groaned and fell back on the bed. They hadn't had sex in six months, and now they were alone together and she was teasing him?

As the water turned on, he remembered the second time they'd ever had sex. It had happened when...she'd snuck into his shower. He grinned, and headed into the bathroom, shedding clothes on the way.

----

She woke up early, but didn't move. Instead, she savored the feeling of waking up next to him. She gently kissed his palm and then pulled his arms tighter around her. Eventually, she drifted back to sleep.

--

He woke up early, his eyes popping open to see the back of her head. He grinned, and reached down to kiss the nape of her neck. She let out a barely audible moan, but other than that did not acknowledge him. He just smiled, and started rubbing his thumb over the inside of her wrist. She shook her head slightly. He kissed her shoulder, and then started moving slowly, oh so slowly, around to the front of her neck.

She shivered and rolled over.

"What are you doing?" she asked, smiling as he continued trailing kisses around her neck. "What ever happened to watching me sleep?"

"That was back when we had sex more often than we slept together," he said quickly, barely pausing in his kissing.

She laughed and caught his mouth with hers. "What time do we have to pick Jessi up?"

He sighed, and rested his forehead on Rory's. "Aren't we here to forget about her?"

"She's our daughter, Jess!" she exclaimed, trying to sit up.

He pulled her back down, and rested his head on her chest. "I know, I know. I'm sorry. It's just..." he sighed. "This weekend, this anniversary was supposed to be about us. Granted, Jessi's a big part of why this anniversary's important, but I was hoping we'd have at least 24 hours where we only thought about the two of us. As if we were two twenty-somethings without any responsibilities."

She waited a minute before answering, but eventually pulled his face back to hers. "You're right," she said, smiling. "The rest of the day is all about us."

----

She'd packed their bags, he'd checked them out, and now he was driving her to an undisclosed location. She was holding his right hand in both of hers, watching his face as she tried to annoy the surprise out of him. Of course, after three and a half years of dating and almost five years of knowing each other, he had developed a very high tolerance to her, and so he was concentrating pretty deeply on the driving, the small smirk on his face the only sign he even heard her.

After a while, she gave up, and leaned back against her seat.

"Worn out?" he asked, glancing over at her briefly.

"He speaks!"

He smiled.

"Yeah, I'd have to say I'm a little tired," she said, answering his question. "You had a pretty healthy sexual appetite this morning. And last night. And this afternoon. And I'm guessing it'll continue into this evening."

He didn't say anything, merely lifted her hand to his lips and touched it gently.

She was quiet for a minute, watching. She'd already discerned that he was going in circles around the town, either lost or just playing for time. She didn't mind, really. She was enjoying sitting in silence, letting him be in charge.

He wrestled his fingers away from hers and rested his hand gently on her upper thigh, keeping his eyes on the road the entire time. She smiled, enjoying the feeling it gave her--like she was safe and taken care of, not to mention a whole gaggle of butterflies in her stomach. She was about to remove his hand to alleviate the fluttering when he suddenly pulled into a driveway and stopped the car.

"We're here," he said, pulling the keys from the ignition and opening his door. She moved to open her own door but he was jogging around the car in no time, offering his hand. She took it, almost giddily, and let him lead her to the walkway in front of the house.

For that's where they were standing, in front of a house. It was a modest house, one story, with a front porch and a one-car garage. It was a soft shade of yellow, with white trim.

After a second of staring at the house, Jess softly tugged her hand and pulled her up the porch and to the front door. When he pulled out a key, she gasped.

"Jess! Where'd you get that?"

"Bought it," he said simply, pushing the door open and leading her inside.

"Are you kidding me?" she asked, letting go and starting to trail through the house. Living room, kitchen, three bedrooms, two bathrooms. Wood floor in the living room and back bedroom, tile in the front bedroom, bathrooms, kitchen and hallway, deep carpet in the master bedroom. Rory finished her impromptu tour back where she'd started, in the living room, where suddenly Jess was surrounded by candles.

"What are you doing?" she asked. "Human sacrifice to keep your deal with the devil?"

He smirked. "It wasn't a deal with the devil, merely a corporation. You see, I worked 60, sometimes 70 hours a week, and every two weeks, the corporation would send me a piece of paper that represented money in the bank. I saved it up and flat out bought us this house."

"Ahh!" Rory squealed and threw herself into Jess's arms. "I cannot believe this!" She jumped up and down, but he tried to stop her, and eventually she became stable. He held her hand and slipped down on one knee.

"Oh, Jess," she gasped. "You don't have to do this. You've already done this."

"No, I haven't," he said. "Now shut up so I can be romantic."

She giggled at him using that word, and then dutifully mimed zipping her lips and throwing away the key.

"Alright. I'm not very good at this kind of thing, and I've already technically asked, so I guess I'll just come out and say it. I'm sorry for getting you pregnant, I'm sorry for running away, I'm sorry for not doing this years ago, I'm sorry for doing it so terribly the first time, and I'm sorry if this speech sucks. But I don't regret any of it. It was all for a reason, though those reasons weren't always part of the whole planning process, and everything led us to this moment. Now, we are standing in the middle of a living room we own, all bought and paid for, most of it my own money. Luke kicked in a few dollars, but not enough to really count. Now, we have a home for our family, you, me, and our daughter, and any other children to come after. And, I guess what I'm trying to say is, Rory, will you marry me?" He pulled a small black velvet box from his pocket and popped it open, showing it to Rory.

"Oh, my God," she breathed, taking it from his hands and looking at it more closely. It was a three-stone diamond ring with a white gold band. "It's beautiful."

Jess stood, and pulled the ring from its nest. "The inscription says 'Past, Present, Future'," he explained, slipping it on her finger. "But I think the stones could mean anything you want it to. You, me, and Jessi. Three years of waiting. Your family," he said, pointing to a diamond on the side. "My family." He pointed to the diamond on the opposite side. "Our family together." He pointed at the diamond in the middle.

Rory looked into his eyes, so full of nervousness, love, pride. She looked at her new ring, nestled on her finger. And then she threw her arms around him with so much force they almost tumbled to the floor.

They christened their new home right then and there.


	4. Freakin' Out

**Title:**_Comfortably Close  
_**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters you recognize. I do own the new characters, whether they're new for this story or for the first one.  
**Summary: **Sequel to _Too Close For Comfort_. Jess and Rory haven't had sex in six months, and the reason is sleeping in a tiny bed in Luke's apartment. Or sometimes a tiny bed in Lorelai's house. Or sometimes even in a full size bed _with_ Jess and Rory. Jess sets out to rectify the situation.  
**A/N: **Filler, filler, filler. But it's a sweet chapter. The next chapter will have real things happening. Maybe.

Review and I'll love you forever!

----

Rory entered the Gilmore household as quietly as she could, softly shutting the front door behind her and carrying her shoes in her hand as she tiptoed toward her room. When she got there, however, she decided that she couldn't keep her news to herself for too long, and she headed for her mother's bedroom. Of course, Lorelai was lying on the couch with a bowl of popcorn, waiting for her.

"Hey, babe. How was it?"

"Did you see me come in?" Rory asked, sitting next to her mother and taking the bowl of popcorn.

"Of course I did."

"Why didn't you call me over?"

"'Cause you looked so funny tiptoeing to your room."

Rory smirked and shook her head.

"So? How was it?" Lorelai asked again, this time nudging Rory with her elbow on every word.

Rory didn't say anything, merely smiled and grabbed a handful of popcorn.

Lorelai poked her in the shoulder with her right index finger. "So? Anything exciting happen? Huh? Huh?" When Rory still didn't respond, Lorelai added her left index finger. "How'd it go? What went on? Huh? Huh?"

Rory eventually laughed and pushed her mother's hands away. "Okay, okay! I'll tell you!"

Lorelai gasped and grabbed Rory's left hand. "You don't have to tell me! Oh, babe, look how beautiful it looks on your hand!"

Rory grinned. "I know," she said, reaching her right hand to touch the engagement ring. "It's gorgeous, huh?"

"Freakin' Heidi Klum of rings," Lorelai agreed.

"Well, that's not really the best thing that happened this weekend."

"Oh, I don't want to hear anything dirty," Lorelai said, dropping Rory's hand and clasping her hands over her ears.

"It's not dirty," Rory said, pulling Lorelai's hands down. "It's _amazing_."

"Well, then. What was the best thing that happened?"

Rory paused a minute, holding out the surprise as long as she could stand. Finally, she said softly, "He bought us a house."

Lorelai's mouth dropped open, and she said, "Um, you were kinda quiet there. What did you say?"

A little louder and steadier, as if she believed it this time, Rory said, "A house. He bought us a house, for the three of us to live in."

Lorelai slapped a hand over her mouth.

"I know!" Rory said, covering her own mouth with both of her hands. Her eyes started tearing up and she started laughing. "Isn't it wonderful?"

"Oh, honey!" Lorelai said. She threw her arms around Rory. "It's _so_ wonderful. It's amazing."

"I know, I can't believe it." Rory rubbed her eyes. "It's crazy. He's scrimped and saved and worked his butt off for years and he _bought_ an actual _house_ for us to live in. It's real, and it's amazing, and," Rory laughed, "it keeps making me cry."

"Oh, sweetie," Lorelai laughed, hugging Rory again.

----

After Jess dropped Rory and the car off at the Gilmores', he took his time getting back to the apartment. It wasn't for any particular reason, he just strolled leisurely home. He contemplated how different his life would be in a few short weeks, hopefully, if all went as planned. On the way to her house, Rory, excited, had decided that they needed to get married as soon as possible. She'd promised to send out invitations the very next day, and to go shopping for clothes the next weekend. There wasn't much else for them to do—they knew they would be getting married at the Dragonfly, they knew Sookie would cater, they knew any number of bands would offer to play at the reception. Really, the one thing that had been delaying their wedding plans, besides Rory's impending graduation, had been their search for a place to live.

Now they had it. It had taken only two botched attempts to get together to shop for an apartment before Jess took matters into his own hands and asked Luke for help. Luke had given him the name of a realtor and had promised to kick in whatever Jess needed to put a down payment on the house. Of course, Jess had lucked out, finding the perfect house for the three of them, and only a little more than he had saved up. Luke almost had a heart attack when Jess asked for the extra money, but when Jess explained that it would allow him to own the house, free and clear, Luke gladly forked it over. Now all they needed was furniture….

Before long, he was at the diner. He let himself in with his key, and then took the stairs two at a time. When he entered the apartment, Luke was already walking out from his room to meet him.

"Shh!" Luke said. "What the hell's the matter with you? The kid's asleep."

"She's here?" Jess asked.

"Yeah. She fell asleep downstairs at dinner. Plus, Lorelai wanted time alone with Rory, 'cause she wanted to gush over the ring."

Jess shook his head. "She knew about it?"

Luke shrugged. "She figured it out."

"Did she know about the house?"

"No. I didn't tell anyone, just like I said."

"Thanks." Jess smiled at his uncle, a genuine, thankful smile. Luke couldn't help but smile back.

"Don't mention it."

"Daddy?" a little voice asked from behind Jess. He spun around to see Jessi, still dressed in her overalls and rubbing her eyes.

"Hey, baby," Jess said, walking over to pick her up. "Why aren't you in your nightclothes?" he asked, looking towards Luke.

Luke shrugged. "She fell asleep."

Jessi, obviously tired, set her head on Jess's shoulder and popped her thumb in her mouth. He started swaying gently side to side, and asked her, "What are you doing up?"

"_Some_one woke her up, obviously," Luke said. Jess waved a hand in Luke's direction and walked into his part of the apartment, leaving Luke to go back to bed, or wherever he'd come from.

"Come on, hon, let's get you changed." He set her on the floor and moved to rummage around in her drawers. "Can you take your clothes off?" he asked. Jessi had been asserting her independence more strongly lately, and so her parents were letting her do the many things they had always done over the years. Basically, she had a bigger say in what clothes she was wearing these days.

"I wanna wear the pink one," Jessi said sleepily.

"They're _all _pink," Jess muttered, sifting through her collection of night gowns. Now stripped to her underwear, she toddled over and pulled out a single gown, which she tried her hardest to slip on by herself. When she got stuck halfway through, she turned to her dad.

"Help," she said feebly.

He laughed softly, knowing that too much would make her cry, and gently tugged on the bottom of the gown until it fell towards her knees. She smoothed it down, and then looked up at him and smiled. "There."

"Very nice," he said, nodding. "Now time for bed." He put one hand at her back and led her towards her small bed. She wouldn't let him lead her, however, and she headed for his larger bed. Without his help, she crawled in and settled on one side.

"Tuck me in," she commanded, holding her arms out to her side.

"If you wanna get tucked in, you gotta sleep in your own bed."

She shook her head. "Tuck me in," she commanded again.

"You can't sleep with Daddy and get tucked in."

"Nuh-uh," she said stubbornly.

"Jessi," he said, a warning tone creeping into his voice.

Immediately, she rolled over on her side, stuck both her hands under her head, and started fake-snoring. "Konk-shoo, konk-shoo."

He sighed, trying not to smile. She got him every time, and she knew it, too. "Oh, no," he said, over-acting. "It looks like Jessi went to sleep. What will I do now? I know," he said, sneaking over to her, "I'll tickle her to wake her up!"

"No, no," she laughed, wriggling beneath his fingers but keeping her eyes closed. He admired her commitment, and eventually collapsed next to her.

"You win," he said, looking at her. She smiled, opening her eyes briefly to look at him, and then closed them again. After a minute, he grabbed her with one arm and pulled her into a hug. "I love you, baby," he said, kissing her on the forehead.

"Shh," she said, "I'm sleeping."

He laughed, and then let her go.

"Hey," he said after a minute. She didn't move, so he reached over and shook her gently. "Hey," he said again.

She opened her eyes and looked at him, keeping one hand tucked beneath her head and popping the other thumb back in her mouth.

"Your mom and I are gonna get married soon."

"I know," she said, pulling her thumb from her mouth for a minute. "You love each other and want to be together faeva. _And_ you haf the same name."

He smiled. "Been talking to Mommy?"

She nodded.

"Did she tell you that we're all gonna live together in a house?"

She nodded.

"And you're gonna have your own room?"

Her eyes lit up. "To _myself_?"

He nodded.

She grinned. "Good."

"Yeah, good. You excited?"

She nodded.

"Good. Now go to sleep."

"'Kay." She closed her eyes, then opened one to look at her dad again. She reached one hand to touch him, and then smiled and closed her eyes. He lifted her hand from his chest and wrapped both of his around it. He smiled, and then drifted off to sleep himself.

----

The next day was Monday, which meant Rory had a job interview and Jess had to watch Jessi. Because Jessi'd spent the night in the apartment, Rory only saw her when she dashed into the diner at quarter to nine for a Danish and coffee.

"To go," she added, still out of breath.

"Alright, alright," Jess said, pouring as quickly as he could. "You wake up late?"

"Don't get me started," Rory said, holding out her hands for the cup. "Mom kept me up for hours and I hardly got any sleep at all."

"Good luck," he said, dropping the Danish in a bag and handing it off.

She kissed him quickly on the lips. "I'll see you after." She stopped very briefly near the door to kiss Jessi a few times and compliment her drawing. "I'll be back in a couple hours, okay babe?"

Jessi nodded, keeping her eyes on her paper, her tongue stuck out in concentration.

"I always feel missed when I leave," Rory said to Jess, rolling her eyes.

"You're gonna be late."

"Oh!" And she was gone, for good this time, with a quick wave.

It only took a few minutes before Jessi stopped drawing and looked up. "Done!" she proclaimed happily, holding up the paper and looking at Jess.

"Very nice, honey," he said, ruffling her hair as he walked by to get someone's order.

Satisfied, Jessi set aside her paper, and then looked around. She wasn't entirely sure what to do now. She'd forgotten to bring her other toys downstairs, and now she had nothing to do. Luckily, she saw one of her favorite people walking in the door.

"Aunt Lane!" she yelled.

"Hey, Jessi," Lane said, smiling at the girl.

"Hey, Lane," Jess said. "You're not supposed to work today, are you?"

"No," Lane said, walking over to the counter and sitting down. "I'm actually here to talk to you."

Jess stopped in his rushing around, almost entirely sure this wasn't good. "And why?"

"We need your help."

Jess waited, but she didn't offer any more information, just grinned at him.

"And?" he asked after a minute.

"Iliana and I are planning a surprise bridal shower for Rory."

Jess narrowed his eyes. "And a bridal shower is the thing with the strippers?"

Lane laughed. "Are you kidding? No. A bridal shower's when everyone brings gifts for the bride. And I think games might be played. It's like a baby shower."

Jess shook his head. "Never had one of those, either."

Lane sighed, and hung her head for a second. Then she looked back up. "Know what? Doesn't matter. We just need you to help us surprise Rory."

"And watch Jessi?"

"Mmm, no. Iliana's bringing her kids, and I think we're inviting girls from the young mother's group."

"Okay. And so you need me to…"

"Surprise Rory."

"By jumping out of a closet and yelling, 'Boo!'?"

"No! Iliana and I are gonna throw the party here, and we need you to keep her occupied and away from the diner for a few hours while we're setting up."

Jess raised his eyebrows. "And you've cleared this with Luke?"

"Of course," Lane nodded.

"When is it?"

"A week from Saturday."

"And you're telling me now?"

"Well, you need to be prepared."

"Not that prepared." Jess dropped off an order and picked one up. Lane left her seat and followed him.

"Come on, Jess, just say you'll help."

"I never said I wouldn't," Jess pointed out.

"And you never said you would."

Jess sighed. "Alright, fine. I promise, that one week from Saturday, almost two weeks away, I will help you surprise Rory."

"Thank you! That's all I needed."

"Of course. Now could you either entertain my kid or get out of the diner?"

"Sure." Lane smiled, and then walked over to Jessi's table and started playing with her.

----

The rest of the week passed without incident, and before long, it was Saturday again, a week before Rory's surprise bridal shower. Jess worked a sixteen hour day at Wal-Mart, and so he didn't make it home until after midnight. He was surprised, though, when he walked into the apartment to find not only Jessi, but Rory asleep in his bed. He walked over and gently shook Rory's shoulder.

"Hey," she said, rolling over and smiling at him.

"Hey," he said, sitting on the bed next to her. "What are you doing here?"

She groaned. "I had a major freak-out, and I just needed to talk to somebody."

"And your mom—"

"Is busy. Luke's over there right now."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

They were silent for a minute, and then Jess kicked off his shoes and lay down. "What are you freaking out about?" he asked, sliding his arm under her neck.

She rested her head on his chest and said, "I just realized I'm graduating in a month. One month, exactly. And It's crazy 'cause I've managed to actually graduate on time."

"That's not that crazy," he said. "You took classes every single summer. You've worked your ass off these past three years."

"So have you," she said, looking up at him. "And you've got more to show for it, what with the house and the ring."

"That's for us, all of us, and any other 'us'es that come along."

She smiled. "You think there will be more 'us'es?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. You think?"

"Maybe," she said, resting her head on his chest again. "Eventually."

"That's all I'm saying."

She didn't respond, just sighed softly. After a minute, he nudged her.

"Hey. Freak-out over?"

"I guess. It's just weird to think I'm actually gonna be an adult soon."

"Because the 'being a parent' thing didn't do it."

"You've met my mother," she said, "and my dad. It took them years to act like adults. And I'm not sure I had anything to do with it."

"Hey, give your parents more credit. They've been pretty good to you."

She smiled. "Yeah, yeah. I'm just raggin' on 'em."

"I know," he said. "You still okay with your dad being in the wedding?"

She thought for a second, and then nodded. "He's really grown up recently. And it would be terrible not to have him there."

"I agree," he nodded. "And that's why I invited Jimmy."

She gasped. "Oh, Jess, really? That's great."

"We're just gonna have to keep him and Liz apart. She can sit on your side, right?"

She laughed. "Of course. Luke'll be on my side anyway."

"He'll have to, if Jimmy's there."

She laughed again, and then suddenly sat straight up. "Oh my God!"

"What?" he asked, sitting up as well.

"We're getting married the Saturday after I graduate."

"Yeah," he said patiently. "And?"

"That's a little over a month away!"

"Five weeks." He nodded.

She groaned and flopped back onto the bed. "Everything's happening all at once."

"And whose decision was that?" he asked, lying down next to her again.

"Mine. But to be fair, I wasn't thinking about actually _doing _all of these things at once. I just kinda wanted them to be over."

"I know what you mean," he said. "I just want to get our life started."

She smiled, ridiculously happy that he'd said that. "Oh! Speaking of, where are we going on our honeymoon?"

Ignoring the weird transition, he shrugged. "Someplace cheap. The Dragonfly?"

"We're _not_ going to the Dragonfly," she said, moving to look at him. "We have to at least make it out of town. Hopefully out of the state."

"Well, we don't have any money after the house and the ring, and we still want to have furniture, and it might be nice to eat, too."

"I'll talk to my grandparents on Friday. They can probably help out."

She was still looking at him, so he didn't want to cringe too much, but he couldn't help but ask, "Friday?"

She didn't roll her eyes, choosing instead to give him a superior look. "Dinner with the grandparents and Mom and Luke. I _know _I told you."

"I'm certain you did," he said. "But that in no way means I remember it."

She grinned, knowing that was true. "Well, dinner's at seven. Drinks are at 6:30. We leave at 6:00."

He grimaced. "6:00 on Friday. 'Til when?"

"Until it's over," she said matter-of-factly.

"What I'm trying to ask is, could I go to work for a few hours afterwards?"

She sighed lightly. "I guess you could. If you have to."

He nodded. "I do. But we need to spend Saturday together. I've already asked for it off."

Her eyes lit up. "Really?"

He smiled. "Yeah. We need to get clothes and stuff for the wedding, right?"

She nodded decisively. "Of course we do. And that's four whole weeks before the wedding, and the last thing we have to do."

"We're right on time."

"Yeah, we are."

He pulled her up and kissed her lightly. "Can't wait until we're all three crowded into one bed on a nightly basis."

She smiled and kissed him back. "You know it."


End file.
